As part of our ongoing efforts to foster a community of scholars of gender studies, we are excited to begin the summer semester 2026 with a new format called feminist forum!
The feminist forum is designed to provide a platform for advanced master students, doctoral researchers and post-docs to share their research and engage in discussions with their peers.
The first feminist forum is concerned with love: Love is a complex and multifaceted concept that has been explored from various perspectives in (queer-)feminist and gender theories. From the critique of romantic love and motherhood as a tool of patriarchal control to the celebration of queer love as a form of resistance, scholars have offered a wide range of insights into the nature of love.
We invite you to consider the following questions:
- How do (queer-)feminist theories understand love and its relationship to power, identity, and desire? How do they contribute to our understanding of relationships, intimacy, and community?
- How do different forms of love (e.g. romantic love, familial love, queer love, friendship) intersect with and challenge dominant norms and structures?
In the audience, there will be Honours students of the faculty of Social Sciences at Utrecht University, who are visiting Goethe University on a study trip, opening the opportunity for international networking and dialogue.
We invite you to submit a proposal for a short presentation in the format 7x7 (7 slides, max. 7 minutes) on your research related to the theme of love until 15 February 2026 to grade-gender@soz.uni-frankfurt.de. This is an opportunity to share your work, receive feedback from your peers, and engage in discussions that can help shape your research.
We encourage especially members of the GRADE Center Gender to present their work. Advanced M.A.-students, PhD students and Post-Docs from other GRADE Centers and from the RMU network are also invited to apply.
You can also attend the event without presenting your research; registration opens on 31 January 2026.